NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 7 – The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party has termed the move by nine legislators to shift to President William Ruto’s camp as ‘no surprise’.
In a statement, the Raila Odinga-led party mentioned that they have closely been monitoring the activities of the leaders who have lately defied the leadership of the political outfit.
ODM Director of Communication Philip Etale described that the move by the defiant MPs as selfish and against the will of the people.
“We know that in the quest for legitimate leadership, there are those who will fall by the wayside, and some will be compromised, but the MOVEMENT remains unstoppable,” Etale stated.
“We call on Kenyans to ignore such selfish leaders who only care about their stomachs and not the well-being of the millions of poor Kenyans,” he added.
ODM maintained that despite the political blow the Azimio political movement will remain unstoppable.
They accused President Ruto of hoodwinking leaders from Odinga’s political camp using stolen cash with the aim of scuttling the liberation progress of the Azimio coalition.
“Such meetings are aimed at diverting the attention of Kenyans from issues they are faced with, ranging from the high cost of living, unbearable school fees for their children, and corruption,” the party stated.
The political hemorrhage within the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya coalition happened after nine political leaders from ODM ditched their party leader Raila Odinga for his rival President William Ruto.
The leaders held a meeting with President William Ruto abandoning Odinga for what they termed as ‘endless politics’.
Even though they haven’t officially decamped to join the Kenya Kwanza Alliance, the leaders will moving forward snub Odinga’s country wide movement and focus on the government agenda.
This being a political stab to Odinga’s as President Ruto has managed to successfully snatch the leaders from his traditional political backyard in Nyanza.
Among the leaders who have attended the meeting include Tom Ojienda (Kisumu),Shakeel Shabir (Kisumu Town East) and Caroli Omondi (Suba South).
Others included Elisha Odhiambo (Gem),Gideon Ochanda (Bondo) Phelix Odiwour AKA Jalango (Langata) Mark Nyamita (Uriri).
This came in the wake of the Kibra political rally over the weekend which some key allies within Odinga’s camp were conspicuously missing.
The scenario raises eyebrows of whether the coalition will remain intact amidst President Ruto’s attempts to woo leaders across the country in his quest for unity.
Leaders who have failed to attend the three rallies held by Odinga so far include Azimio Secretary-General Junet Mohammed, ODM Chairman John Mbadi, Jubilee Vice Chairman David Murathe and former Mombasa governor Hassan Joho.
On January 23rd, President Ruto met Jubilee Party Members of Parliament at State House, Nairobi. The President said he was keen on uniting all the leaders to push the agenda of the people of Kenya forward.
The Jubilee leaders who graced the meeting included Sabina Chege (Nominated), Kanini Kega (EALA), David Kiaraho (Ol Kalou) and Irene Njoki (Bahati).
Others included Zachary Kwenya (Kinangop), Shadrack Mwiti (South Imenti), and Mark Mwenje (Embakasi West).
Jubilee is part of the larger Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance that ran against Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Alliance in the August 2022 polls.
The Odinga led coalition has since planned a Parliamentary Group (PG) meeting on Thursday with some of the key agendas being to discuss how to consider the issue of lawmakers who have decamped.
The PG will also outline strategies on how to frustrate the Kenya Kwanza Alliance in Parliament ahead of the house sitting resumption.
